School Matters 36

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ACAAS IS FORMED

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: MADELAINE HELLEUR O’CONNOR SPEAKS TO IPS

The IPS Society for pupils of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage and their Allies was launched on Martin Luther King Day. Ms Bennett, Head of Montefiore House, introduced an online presentation given by PVI ACAAS Committee members Tireni Ajayi, who is of Nigerian heritage, Nuria Dhumale, Arin Gramopadhye, Rishabh Madhok, who are of Indian heritage, and Max Mahendra, whose heritage is half-Malay and half-British. Together they explained that the aims of the society are to: • run a weekly club providing educational opportunities to learn different languages and their associated cultures • develop a mentorship programme run by S10 and PVI pupils for Senior 7 and academically, and would prefer to talk to someone from a similar background • offer a place for pupils to share positive as well as negative feedback on experiences at IPS • build a community in which we all unify against racism, make our school inclusive and create a safe space for all • celebrate the rich diversity of pupil heritage at IPS • introduce a Speaker Programme once every half term featuring speakers from diverse heritages who will talk about their experiences and challenges from the perspective of being an ethnic minority in the UK Yeva Kebabdjian, an Ally of the society, emphasised that everyone was welcome to attend, regardless of heritage, religion, or background. We are very excited to see and support 8 pupils, especially those of diverse heritages who may be finding it difficult to settle in at IPS, either socially or

Madelaine is a Data and Technology Consultant at KPMG and a member of their Technology Inclusion and Diversity team. She very kindly recorded an assembly for IPS pupils in which she talked about Microagressions and Microresistance. Microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults toward people of colour and other marginalised groups. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they have caused offence, but these constant slights can be hurtful and have long-lasting impact on those targeted. Madelaine gave us strategies to deal with or call out microagressions and called this microresistance. Her advice chimed with As part of Black History Month, S7 pupils investigated the contributions made by black individuals through time, right up to present day. Our task was not necessarily to focus on the well-known names, but to seek out those lesser-known and consider the contribution that they made to society. One of the individuals that we learnt about was CJ Walker, an African American woman who developed cosmetics for African American women. Walker’s early life was hard. Although orphaned at seven and later working as a domestic servant, by the time she died, aged 51, she was one of the wealthiest African Americans in the United States.

IPS expectations of how we interact with other people in our community: • Treat others as you wish to be treated – with Respect, Consideration and Empathy • Call Out rude, hurtful, or thoughtless comments or behaviour, in a calm and logical way • Be an Ally – stand up for others when they need our support Mrs Catherine McBride, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion In more recent history, several Senior 7s drew attention to the influence of Marcus Rashford, the footballer. His contribution was highlighting the plight of children during lockdown who were not getting enough to eat. Rashford started a campaign to raise money to feed poorer children and by the end of his campaign he had raised £20 million and provided three million meals for children in the UK. We also learnt about Guion S Bluford, who was the first black astronaut. Bluford fought in the Vietnam War and first went into space in August 1983. He was a veteran astronaut, participating in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992, and he completed a PhD in aerospace engineering. We also enjoyed learning about the contribution of various black singers, including Whitney Houston. During her lifetime she won 415 awards, including six Grammy and two Emmy awards and her music is still enjoyed today. Black History Month may have drawn to a close, but we look forward to covering other elements of black history during the rest of the academic year. Dr Luc Martin, Head of Humanities

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Dr Guion S Bluford

the work of this group over the coming months.